Tag Archives: NYRB

William Dean Howells, “Indian Summer”

Posted on November 13, 2010 by carolwallace

The jacket copy calls Indian Summer “one of the most charming and memorable romantic comedies in American literature,” so I took the bait, despite skepticism. I have read  William Dean Howells before and he wasn’t charming. But for once the … Continue reading →

Posted in classic, funny | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Caroline Blackwood, “Great Granny Webster”

Posted on November 9, 2010 by carolwallace

I’ve always been fascinated by the combination of glamor and emotional mess that seems to surround the Guinness clan of Ireland and England. Reckless marriages, feral parenting arrangements, and stunning looks seem to be pretty reliable family markers. All were … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, literary fiction, memoir, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Sylvia Townsend Warner, “Summer Will Show”

Posted on November 8, 2010 by carolwallace

In other hands, this premise would have been clumsy. Sophia Willoughby, an upright well-bred English matron, finds herself liberated when she is caught in Paris during the 1848 Revolution. Her personal sloughing-off of class limitations, her eager lurch toward love … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, classic, French | Tagged | 5 Comments

Guy de Maupassant, “Alien Hearts”

Posted on March 31, 2010 by carolwallace

This is the last novel Maupassant published before his death of syphilis in 1893, at the age of 40. New York Review Books has given us a gorgeous little volume with a period photo of a Rodin clay maquette. Color … Continue reading →

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